| 3 | Rangers | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 23 |
| 4 | Dundee United | 13 | 5 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 20 |
| 5 | Motherwell | 12 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 19 |
| 6 | St Mirren | 14 | 5 | 3 | 6 | -4 | 18 |
| 7 | Dundee | 13 | 4 | 3 | 6 | -3 | 15 |
Elliott Frear is full of positivity ahead of Saturday’s trip to Dens Park.
The winger is taking confidence from last season’s clashes against Dundee, and believes ‘Well are heading in to the fixture on the back of some solid performances.
“We feel good,” the Englishman said. “We know what we’ve got to do there. We got good results there last season and we know what we’ve got to do to win.”
Stephen Robinson spoke to the press ahead of his side’s trip to Dens Park in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
And following on from a dramatic 3-3 draw with Rangers, the ‘Well boss hopes to see his side take their strong form in to Saturday’s game.
“It was just a normal week. I mean we just got on with our jobs and we had a good result, one I felt that we should have won to be honest. Having watched it back and we dominated large parts of the game so it’s time to take that form again and we’ve got a tough game against Dundee and we just have to concentrate on the football.”
“It sort of felt like a win, and I know we only got one point from it so it obviously isn’t a win and we know that. It would have been difficult for me to go in to that dressing room had we not got anything out of it considering how well we played against a top, top team. So it was good, the atmosphere around the place has been very, very good and we feel that’s our best performance and very much like we were last season.”
“I think they’re a good side. I went to see them against St Johnstone and they’ve got a lot of very good technical players who can dominate large parts of the game. So we’re well prepared and it’s not something we’ll take lightly.
“We’ve only played three games and we’re talking about teams at the bottom and teams struggling, but nobody is struggling at this stage, this is people finding form and getting into a little bit of a rhythm as we are as well and and I’m sure Dundee will go on and and put a run together but hopefully that doesn’t start against us.”
“I think he’s a good signing for them, Kenny’s a good player. We’ve ready played against him once this season with Livingston so we’ll be well aware of Kenny’s threats.”
“I don’t think that plays a part. As I said, I think the media has to fill every page seven days a week and make a big thing out of three games and no points. But we’re just three games in to a season and you can see that with ourselves as well.
“It’s very, very early for everybody and we’re wary of every team we play against. We’re well aware of their strengths and we know that they’ve got many, and we’re well aware of their weaknesses as we are with every single team.”
“Well we’re in the quarterfinals of a cup, we’ve just outplayed and drew with a team that have spent millions of pounds and everybody fancies, potentially, for the league. So yes, we’ve done okay so far.
“We didn’t get results in the first two league games and we’re still having to chop and change slightly with losing Cedric Kipre and Charles Dunne who were mainstays of a defence than didn’t concede a goal in 20 games last season so we’re still getting that together, but I see big signs of improvement and I thought some of our performance have been excellent.”
It’s time to vote for your Tullibardine Player of the Month for August.
The month may have started with some tough results but the squad bounced back in style. They reached the quarter finals of the Betfred Cup and giving us a memorable day against Rangers, when Peter Hartley netted a dramatic last-minute equaliser in a 3-3 draw.
Now you can choose who deserves the accolade of our best player.
To vote, just head to our Facebook page and choose your favourite. Here’s the shortlist for August.
Brought back on loan after the departure of Cédric Kipré, the central defender has slotted straight back into the team with ease.
The Englishman has been a consistent performer since making his return against Hamilton and has made three appearances.
Having played his way back into selection, Bigirimana has been a strong performer in central midfield.
Impressing against Hamilton Academical and Livingston, his best came at the end of the month when he set up two goals in the 3-3 draw with Rangers.
Johnson has had to wait patiently to get his chance as he adjusted to life in ML1, but has already demonstrated the goal scoring prowess he displayed south of the border.
His performance against Hibernian as a substitute gave the Steelmen hope of a comeback, before netting the winner in the 1-0 cup win over Livingston and showing great composure to open the scoring against Rangers with a delicate chip.
Always Mr Dependable, Carl McHugh has moved back to centre back and handled it with a succession of strong performances.
The Irishman has been an ever-present in August, forming a solid defensive line along with Aldred and Peter Hartley.
Gaël Bigirimana sits down for a coffee and a chat ahead of this weekend’s clash with Dundee.
The midfielder’s honesty and faith shine through in an open and honest account.
Our interview was filmed at the Windmills Cafe in Motherwell.
Windmills is a social enterprise cafe in the heart of Motherwell which is committed to ensuring young people with learning disabilities have equal access to meaningful work experience opportunities. For more information, visit Windmills Cafe’s website.
Some games are just made for our Story of the Match feature.
Here is the tale of our pulsating 3-3 draw with Rangers for you to relive.
Peter Hartley scored a last-gasp equaliser as a battling Motherwell took a deserved draw from their match with Rangers.
The Steelmen twice led in the first half but were pegged back, before the defender’s heroics in the final minute made it 3-3.
Goal scorers Peter Hartley, Carl McHugh and Danny Johnson were delighted to claim a point against Rangers at Fir Park.
The hosts grabbed a last-minute equaliser and were more than a match for their opponents as they lifted themselves off the foot of the Ladbrokes Premiership.
Motherwell manager Stephen Robinson was full of praise for his side and felt they could have won the match as they drew 3-3 with Rangers.
The Steelmen fought hard against a strong Ibrox side and took a share of the spoils through Peter Hartley’s last-minute equaliser.
An injury time equaliser from captain Peter Hartley earned Motherwell their first point in the Ladbrokes Premiership.
However, after twice taking the lead in the first half through Danny Johnson and Carl McHugh and pressing Rangers for most of the second half Stephen Robinson’s men might claim they deserved all three points.
In a pulsating first half, Steven Gerrard’s new look Gers twice came from behind with a double from Kyle Lafferty and Ovie Ejaria giving them a half time lead.
Allan Campbell and Chris Cadden returned to the midfield as ‘Well chased their first league points off the season.
Following his winner at Livingston last week, Danny Johnson kept his place alongside Curtis Main in the home attack. And it took the former Gateshead striker less than three minutes to open his league account.
Cadden’s long ball had Connor Goldson retreating and when the centre back slipped, Johnson latched on to the bouncing ball to calmly lob it over the advancing Allan McGregor for the perfect start.
Two minutes later it was almost a perfect start for Lafferty but his downward header was saved low in front of his right hand post by Trevor Carson.
Another great cross from Cadden whizzed across the six yard box with Andy Rose just failing to make contact. Minutes later Main’s glancing header sent Johnson in behind and having held off Goldson just failed to chip the ball over McGregor.
With ‘Well looking comfortable, Rangers equalised with a fortunate strike after 15 minutes. Borna Barisic’s cross was headed out of the box and although Lafferty’s drive might have been on target, it posed no real problem for Carson until a wicked deflection off Richard Tait sent the ball away from the ‘keeper and into the corner.
Amazingly it took the Fir Park men only two minutes to restore their lead. Gael Bigirimana, whose delivery from set pieces threatened throughout the game, whipped in terrific free kick. Carl McHugh at the corner of the six yard box then confidently steered his header across the keeper and into the far corner of the net to make it 2-1.
The game was hectic and end to for the next 20 minutes until Rangers and Lafferty produced another equaliser. James Tavernier sent over a tempting cross but the ex Hearts striker leapt unchallenged eight yards from goal to bury a header past Carson.
Three minutes from the end of a fast and entertaining half, the Ibrox side nicked another goal to take the lead. From Motherwell’s corner play raced to the other end where Ejaria collected the ball at the edge of the box. His curling shot appeared to bring out a great save from Carson but the ball spun from his left hand before creeping inside his right hand post.
Motherwell’s response to that set back was to press from the restart and dominate large spells of the second half. After early attempts from Johnson and Tait were blocked inside the six yard box the pressure on the visitor’s goal was incessant – especially after the introduction of Conor Sammon and Elliot Frear for the final 15 minutes.
A succession of corners from Bigirimana kept the pressure on the Rangers’ goal.
Nine minutes from time Hartley climbed high to meet a corner only to power his header narrrowly over the bar. As the clock ticked towards the final minutes another corner found Main and his header back across goal agonisingly raced a couple of inches outside the far post.
As three minutes additional time was signalled ‘Well continued to push for an equaliser and it duly arrived in the final minute. With Rangers desperately defending, yet another Bigirimana corner found Hartley a couple of yards out and he forced the ball over a crowded goal line for a richly deserved equaliser.
The Steelmen return to Premiership action after securing a quarter-final spot in the Betfred Cup last weekend.
But in Steven Gerrard’s Rangers side, ‘Well face a tough encounter against a side who look buoyed by the appointment of their new boss.
It may be Gerrard’s first job in management, but the Englishman looks at home in the dugout already.
He may be one of the biggest names in recent Scottish football history, but the Gers boss is transitioning seamlessly in to his latest role in the game.
If there were any doubters, there can be few now, with Rangers enjoying one of the strongest starts they’ve had to a season in a number of years.
It has been well documented now that Rangers have yet to fall behind in a game since Gerrard took over this summer.
In their opening 10 games, the Gers have managed an impressive six clean sheets and have only conceded four goals.
Last term, the top scoring side in the league struggled at the back, conceding the most goals of the top seven sides in the table. That problem looks to be resolved.
Alfredo Morelos has started the 2018/19 campaign in scintillating form, bagging six goals already.
He’s hit a third of his tally of 18 from last season, and he could well smash that total this term.
Add to the mix new signing Kyle Lafferty, and Sunday’s opponents look threatening at the top end of the pitch.
It may be August, but Rangers are juggling a busy schedule in 2018/19, and that could pose a few problems.
With one eye on their midweek trip to Russia, and the pending clash with fierce rivals Celtic looming large next weekend, Gerrard may well be forced to rotate his players to maintain fitness levels.
Ex-Steelman Jamie Murphy is out through injury, and will inevitably be a loss for Sunday’s visitors to Fir Park.
